EPS9508: Building a Corporate Innovation Capability: Strategy and Tactics

(Previously Corporate Innovation as a Profession: Designing Innovation Roles)

Corporate Intrapreneurs get by through breaking rules and seeking protection by senior leaders. It doesn't need to be this way. Companies are undertaking much more systematic approaches. To build a capability for truly Strategic Innovation that helps a company disrupt itself before others do, a new set of competencies and supporting management system must be instituted. In this course we will examine the elements of that management system and focus on two aspects that are most pressing in today's companies. The first is strategic, that is, Senior leadership's role in setting direction for and governing Strategic Innovation Initiatives, by defining and committing to Domains of Innovation Intent for the organization. The second is more tactical, and that is the issue of talent management. Leading edge companies are working to design innovation functions that require clearly defined innovation roles. We'll examine emerging roles for the corporate innovator, possible career paths, and newly designed tools for their selection and development.

MOB7543 Building Inclusive Organizations

(Formerly Managing in a Diverse Workplace)
3 CreditsThis course focuses on how to build inclusive organizations for enhanced innovation and performance. We will explore this essential topic for today's business world through the lenses of social context, individual leadership, and organizational policy and culture. The course begins by examining the opportunities and challenges to building inclusive organizations. Next, the course takes the personal perspective, considering what entrepreneurial leaders can do to build an inclusive organization. The course concludes with a focus on organizational policies and culture -- and how inclusive workplace practices contribute to positive outcomes. The emphasis throughout the course will be on how building inclusive organizations provides an opportunity for individuals and organizations to develop and thrive. Students will work independently and in learning groups.

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Prerequisites: None

QTM7800 Business Analytics

2 Credits (Core MBA)If you have taken and passed QTM7200, you cannot register for QTM7800, as these two courses are equivalent

In the BA stream of the course, regression models are used to understand dependence relations and thereby improve the accuracy of predictive modeling. Sensitivity analyses are used to determine which factors drive our decisions, and, thus, determine which factors need to be carefully managed. In the OIM stream of the paired course, strategic tradeoffs are discussed to understand the operations and information models for a variety of settings (e.g., startups, nascent or established organizations) and thereby improve any model by utilizing resources (e.g., physical assets, people, data, digital technologies, markets) and processes for the flow of goods, people and information.

MSB6300 Business Analytics Field Project
3 Blended CreditsThe course will provide students with the opportunity to reinforce as many as possible of the program's learning goals by guiding and coaching them through the performance of analytical tasks that they can expect to encounter in the workplace following graduation. The course will consist of two principal components:

1. A formal curriculum, delivered in a blended format, that will teach students critical skills needed to plan and execute analytical projects, and then to communicate their results effectively to senior management and other stakeholders; and
2. A consulting project, coached by a faculty member, in which teams of students will perform an analytical task for an outside organization and present their work to executives from that organization.

ECN7515 Business Model Innovation to Compete in the Digital Economy

3 Elective Credits

Recent surveys to Top Management Teams show that business model innovation is at the forefront of their thoughts and challenges, both in startups and established companies. This course provides the tools to design and operate innovative business models.

The tools to be learned should help students understand how to think about business model innovation, respond to the entry of disruptive business models, and decide whether the company should operate single or multiple business models. We also analyze business model transformation and innovation in entrepreneurial organizations and how these organizations can use business model innovation to challenge established companies even in mature industries.

Examples of questions to be asked in the course are: How can a startup disrupt industries such as dairy, pharmaceutical, retail, financial, wine, and biotechnology? What are the fundamental issues to consider when designing business models that require different customer groups simultaneously? How to build sustainable models? What are the conditions to implement a business model innovation in an organization? How can the simultaneous operation of more than one business model promote a hard-to-imitate competitive advantage?

Regardless of your intended career path, understanding business models is essential. In investment banking or private equity, you need to understand the "engine" (i.e., the business model) that produces profits. In consulting, you need to solve organizational problems, which is very hard without understanding how the business model works. In industry, regardless of the company, economic sector, and position, you need to understand the context in which you operate and how your actions fit into the firm's policies, assets, and decision-making. In entrepreneurship, business model innovation is a powerful tool to succeed.

Prerequisites: None

ECN7575 Business Models, Competitiveness, and the Changing European Environment
3 Elective Abroad CreditsProgram fee is paid to Glavin Office - program fee includes: accommodations, breakfast, ground transportation, program planned meals and cultural excursions. Not included: tuition, international flight, single room supplement (additional $500), visa costs, additional meals and personal expenses.

ECN 7575 explores competitive and strategic dimensions of companies doing business in the European Union (EU) in the context of EU competitiveness, institutions, policies, history and culture. This course studies ways that companies organize and define core competencies to build successful global brands. It further examines emerging trends, opportunities, and challenges for business and business creation in Italy and in the EU. ECN7575 explores how companies adapt and take advantage of business model disruptions, such as changes in technology and EU regulation, in light of current market dynamics. This course is grounded in economic fundamentals of relevant market definition, competitiveness in different geographies, firm behavior and performance, and provides students with opportunities to evaluate how companies position themselves for success in global markets based on their business model and strategic choices.

ECN 7575 is divided into two parts: two on-campus lectures (WebEx available for Blended Learning students) and a week-long site visit to Italy. In Italy, students will visit 5-6 companies to study challenges and opportunities they are facing in the context of the EU, its institutions, and global competition. Past company visits include among others: Amazon, PayPal, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Ducati, Ermenegildo Zegna, Armani, Eataly, Brembo and DHL. In addition, several faculty from Bocconi University will offer lectures and case discussions pertaining to the current developments in the EU and the European Competitiveness court and relate them to relevant company visits. Applications discussed will also include luxury brand management, integrated supply chains, and consequences of specific business model choices for valuation, revenue potential, and brand equity objectives. Last but not least, several activities are planned that will allow students to engage in and embrace Italian history and culture. Past excursions include a night at La Scala, a guided tour of Milan, a viewing of Leonardo DaVinci's The Last Supper, and attending a soccer game at San Siro.

Prerequisites: ECN7200, ECN7201, ECN7500 or ECN7505

EPS7545 The Entrepreneurial Extension: Buying a Small Business

1.5 CreditsThis course will delve deeply into the challenges, process, and risks of buying a small business. Students will explore the intricacies of planning, evaluating and negotiating to buy a small business from a family-controlled or privately-owned enterprise. All aspects of financing and equity structure alternatives plus the industry peculiarities of acquiring a small business will be explored via cases, discussion, and an individual research paper.

This course is geared specifically to buying a small business and links with EPS7530 (M&A for Entrepreneurs) which focuses on a broad understanding of middle-market company M&A and is geared to students looking to buy a business in the future or students entering the corporate or advisory world.

Prerequisites: None

**It is recommended that students also take EPS7530 (M&A for Entrepreneurs) in order to develop a deep understanding of the M&A process**

EPS7546 Buying a Small Business: The Search Experience

1.5 CreditsThis course compliments EPS 7545 (Buying a Small Business) and EPS 7530 (M&A for Entrepreneurs) by allowing students interested in buying a business the opportunity to conduct a live search under the supervision of their Professor. Enrollment in or successful completion of either of the courses listed above is a prerequisite for this course.

The latter stage of the MBA program is an excellent time to conduct a business search. Students can learn from their experiences, share lessons with fellow students and actually find a serious business acquisition opportunity within a three-month semester.

The course will include group seminars and private sessions with the Professor for planning and review of the individual search plan. Students are expected to spend 30-40 hours during the semester conducting a serious search.

Group seminars will cover the following areas:
- Self Assessment
- Definition of the Search Objectives
- Preparation of a Business Plan for the Search
- Preparation of a Communications and Target Plan
- Opportunity Risk and Opportunity Process
- Strategies for Information, Due Diligence & Negotiations
- Keeping the Deal Alive
- The Closing Process

Prerequisites: Students who enroll in this course must be currently enrolled in EPS7530 or EPS7545 or have completed one of these courses in a prior semester AND also have completed EPS7200 or equivalent core

FIN7502 Capital Markets
3 Elective CreditsThis course provides a survey of modern capital markets and a framework for understanding their continuing transformation. The course is suitable either for a person looking to make a career in finance or a generalist looking to broaden their knowledge of financial markets. The course begins by studying the fixed income markets, concentrating on Treasury bonds and the determinants of the yield curve. The course also considers certain derivatives, such as options and interest rate swaps. Mortgage markets are studied by analyzing structured mortgage products as well as the role financial intermediaries play in mortgage finance. The course proceeds to consider the causes and the effects of the credit crisis on various markets and intermediaries, including investment and commercial banks, and the shadow banking system. The course then turns to the equity markets. In this section, we first consider corporate control contests, including a takeover of a U.S. firm by foreign bidder. We analyze the market for money management products, including mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and robo-advisers. The course concludes by considering traditional vs. new mechanisms for the trading of stocks, including electronic markets and high frequency trading.

Prerequisites: FIN7200, FIN7800 or MSF Program

MBA7402 Capstone: Corporate Entrepreneurship

6 CreditsThe Corporate Entrepreneurship capstone course has three learning objectives:
-Integrate and apply accumulated learning experiences since the beginning of the Blended Learning MBA program
-Explore creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship in greater depth-in corporate and in greenfield settings
-Develop a penetrating understanding of the process required to create something of significant value out of almost nothing

Students form teams and develop a business plan based on either a project identified within their companies or a greenfield project.